After weeks of back-and-forth and switching favorites, a pair of unique players have taken the lead in the race for college football the most prestigious individual honor.

And neither plays quarterback.

Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty they distanced themselves from the pack in the race for Heisman Trophyoutrunning a bevy of quarterbacks — including Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel — for the prestigious award.

Hunter, the Colorado Buffaloes’ dynamic two-way force, established himself as the clear leader with a historic performance in Saturday’s win over Utah. And Jeanty, Boise State’s fun-to-watch running back, bolstered his Heisman case by setting the Broncos’ single-season rushing record in a win over San Jose State.

Gabriel, who came in last weekend with the second-best Heisman sharefell out of the top four after a pedestrian performance in the Ducks’ win at Wisconsin, falling behind the Miami quarterback Cam Ward and quarterback Indiana Kurtis Rourke. It is the first time in several weeks that Gabriel is not among the top four contestants.

Odds are fluid and can fluctuate from week to week. But with less than two weeks remaining before the ballots go out to Heisman voters, Hunter has become the odds-on favorite.

Here’s how the race stacks up in Week 14:

TRAVIS HUNTER, CB/WR COLORADO (-350 quotas)

In a season full of impressive individual performances, Hunter may have produced the most memorable on Saturday, when he turned into a human highlight reel during the Buffaloes’ 49-24 victory over the Utes.

Hunter caught five passes for 55 yards and rushed for a stunning five-yard touchdown on offense and finished with an interception, three tackles and a pass deflection on defense. And he did it all while playing nearly every snap of the game, seeing action in all 65 offensive plays and 67 of 72 defensive plays for the Buffaloes.

Hunter became the first player — in the NFL or college — to record at least 50 receiving yards, score a rushing touchdown and intercept a pass in the same game since Champ Bailey did so in the 2000 NFL season .

And the historic show was full of big plays and highlights. One of Hunter’s receptions was a 28-yard beauty in which he jumped over two defenders to make a contested acrobatic catch near the end of the first half. His interception came on a deflected pass where he plucked the loose ball out of the air and ran more than 20 yards the other way. And his five-yard touchdown run came on a reverse in the red zone, where Hunter took a handoff, ran back about 15 yards, dodged several defenders and went up the middle, diving through a group of bodies in the end zone.

Later in the celebration, Hunter pulled off a Heisman pose as No. 16 Colorado (8-2) won its fourth straight game.

Hunter ranks sixth nationally in receptions (74), tied for sixth in receiving touchdowns (nine) and 11th in receiving yards (911) by wide receiver while collecting 23 tackles , three interceptions and a forced fumble at cornerback.

ASHTON JEANTY, RB, BOISE STATE (+390)

Meanwhile, Jeanty climbed back into the top two after another prolific rushing performance during a 42-21 win over San Jose State.

The junior from Jacksonville, Fla. rushed for 159 yards and three touchdowns, passing Jay Ajayi to become the Broncos’ leading rusher with 1,893 yards. Jeanty is on pace to rush for more than 2,400 yards by the time the Heisman ballots are announced on Dec. 9 and is one shy of Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record of 2,628 yards set in 1988.

Jeanty leads the nation in rushing yards – he has 471 more than the next closest competitor – rushing touchdowns (26) and rushing yards per game (189.3).

The best running back in college football is, in large part, the reason the No. 12 Broncos (9-1) are in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

CAM WARD, QB, MIAMI (+1400)

Ward was finally stopped last weekend — the Hurricanes had a bye — but the senior quarterback still climbed the list of Heisman contenders, passing Gabriel for third.

Ward leads the nation in passing yards (3,494) and passing touchdowns (32) and is on pace to become just the 15th player in college football history to throw for at least 40 touchdowns in a season. He topped 400 passing yards three times and threw for at least three touchdowns eight times in 2024 as Miami ran its best offense – the 11th-ranked Hurricanes (9-1) , lead the nation in scoring (45.0 points per game) and yards (544.8 per game).

KURTIS ROURKE, QB, INDIANA (+3000)

The dark horse contender made the top four this week and has a golden opportunity to climb even higher this weekend when the Hoosiers no. 5 Ohio State visits No. 2 in a game that has Big Ten Championship Game and College Football Playoff implications.

The sixth-year senior, who helped turn a dormant program into the story of the college football season, doesn’t have eye-popping stats like Ward and Gabriel. But he completed 71.8 percent of his passes, threw for 2,410 yards and 21 touchdowns and posted a 182.7 quarterback rating.

And he did so while engineering an offense that ranks second in the nation in scoring (43.9 points per game) and 15th in yards (453.2 per game). Oh, and the Hoosiers (10-0) have won more games than any team in program history.

DILLON GABRIEL, QB, OREGON (+3500)

The Ducks (11-0) avoided an upset at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday with a 16-13 win over Wisconsin to remain atop the national rankings. But Gabriel had a ho-hum performance for the second consecutive game, sending him out of the top four contenders.

The sixth-year senior completed 22 of 31 passes for 218 yards and an interception against the Badgers while failing to throw a touchdown pass for the first time this season. His worst performances came in the last two weeks, when he collected just 401 yards.

Even so, Gabriel leads the nation in completion percentage (73.8%), ranks eighth in passing yards (3,066), is tied for ninth in passing touchdowns (22) and boasts the seventh-most good total QBR (84.1). In addition, Gabriel likely has two more games to build his Heisman case before voters cast their ballots — the Ducks host Washington in the final game of the regular season and, barring a monumental collapse, will play in the for the Big Ten title, most. probably against Ohio State or Indiana.

— Joe Freeman covers Oregon ducks. Contact him at 503-294-5183 or @BlazerFreeman. Listen Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to Ducks Roundup Newsletter.